Oncofertility is a combination of the fields of oncology and fertility preservation. Cancer patients undergo therapy that leaves certain consequences in fertility, and this field studies methods and treatments to preserve fertility in cancer patients.
There are a lot of advancements in oncofertility, and the future is more reassuring than ever. We’ll discuss these advancements and how they’ve expanded the options for fertility preservation and improved success rates significantly.
Preservation Techniques
Currently, oncofertility is focused on preserving what can be used to fertilize. Its main goal is to safeguard fertility in cancer patients. Some methods focus on freezing eggs, embryos, and other materials that can be later used for fertilization. Here’s the outline:
- Testicular tissue preservation: Cells that produce sperm are extracted from the cancer patient, a young one, unfortunately, and they are frozen. Once needed, these cells are thawed and cultured in a laboratory to produce sperm.
- Ovarian tissue preservation: Instead of cells that produce sperm, this technique freezes the tissue that contains immature eggs. It’s a promising technique because the tissue can be transplanted back into the woman’s body.
- Embryo preservation: An embryo is created through In-Vitro Fertilization, and it’s frozen cryogenically. All of the previous techniques involve cryogenics as well.
- Oocyte preservation: This is a procedure where a woman’s egg is frozen before cancer treatment takes place, so it can be preserved and it’s a very popular technique because of the ability to thaw successfully.
Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Innovation
There are numerous innovations in assisted reproductive technologies. These are exciting advancements as we’ll soon be able to provide new possibilities for fertility preservation, infertility treatment, and prevention of genetic disorders. The advancements in the reproductive medicine field include:
- IVM: In-vitro maturation of oocytes is the procedure involving immature eggs that mature in a lab and are then fertilized. This is beneficial for PCOS patients or cancer patients who can’t wait for ovarian simulation cycles.
- Artificial ovary creation: This is an innovative approach that involves creating a synthetic structure to mimic a real ovary and support the growth of ovarian follicles. This will mitigate the risk of cancer cell reintroduction during the transplants of ovarian tissue.
- IVS: In-vitro spermatogenesis is an approach that involves making sperm cells from sperm-producing tissue, i.e. spermatogonia in a lab.
- PGT-A: This procedure allows us to figure out if there is an anomaly in the chromosomes of an embryo before the implantation happens. It’s helpful in IVF. It reduces the risk of miscarriage and other chromosomally abnormal pregnancy types.
Cancer Treatment and Oncofertility
There’s a multidisciplinary approach to the integration of oncofertility into cancer treatment. It needs to be a collaboration between a group of healthcare professionals including oncologists, fertility specialists, and others.
There are a ton of things that can be done with this type of collaboration. Fertility planning can be included in the overall cancer treatment plan. The timing is crucial, and it can decrease the delays in cancer treatment and increase the success of preservation.
Also, oncofertility is a field that addresses the psychological impact of the diagnosis on patients and the treatments, and any other fertility concerns. Healthcare professionals need to support patients throughout the entire journey, pre-treatment, during treatment, and post-treatment.
What Comes Next?
Currently, numerous developments are happening in the oncofertility field. These include 3D bioprinting, gene editing, different pharmacological approaches, artificial intelligence, and home-monitoring equipment:
- 3D bioprinting: Researchers are exploring this avenue to create organoids and tissues that mimic real reproductive organs. This tissue can be used in drug testing, researching reproductive biology, and even as a transplant.
- Gene editing: CRISPR-Cas9 in genetics holds a lot of promise for fertility restoration in people undergoing cancer treatment. In oncofertility, it’s an exploration of the genes that affect fertility in individuals undergoing cancer treatment.
- Pharmacological approaches: Pharmaceuticals are being developed that can protect the function of the reproductive organs in cancer patients during their treatment. This is probably going to minimize the risk of infertility significantly.
- AI in fertility prediction: Recent developments in AI show a lot of promise in oncofertility in the prediction of the outcomes regarding fertility in cancer patients currently under treatment.
- Home monitoring: This is a surefire way to keep track of your hormones important for fertility. There are different solutions on the market, but Mira reviews are better than most, and they offer a unique set of equipment and experience.
Conclusion
A few preservation techniques are being researched and used at the moment. But, the future seems brighter with the development of assisted reproductive technologies, and the upcoming developments show even more promise. This is just the beginning, but the field of oncofertility combined with pharmacy, genetics, bioengineering, AI, and proper monitoring seems to have paved its way to success already.
